Kubuntu 8.10 is beautiful!

[lyceum]

When I first started using a FOSS OS, I tested 100's on my laptop, and anytime something went wrong it was the Kubuntu live CD that saved me. I finally woke up and realized that Kubuntu was the OS for me, but once I started trying to use it, my dyslexia made it very hard to read the programs, they all started with "k" and that was very konfusing ;) So, I switch to the ugly one, Ubuntu (sorry fans Browns fans) and quickly learned about gnome-look.org.

For different reasons I decided to give Kubuntu another go. KDE is not abusing the letter "K" as much like they use to, 4.1 is stable, and I have been using Ubuntu for 2 years, I wanted to see something new without straying too far from home.

I must say that Kubuntu 8.10, though still somewhat a work in progress (with a month left) is AWESOME! It is the most beautiful OS I have ever seen right out of the box. I will be dual booting for a month so I can still have Ubuntu 8.04 to fall back on, but the changes from when I first saw Kubuntu to now are amazing. If you have not tried it yet, you should. I got everything I need running in no time, and everything is much easier to find (that may have something to do with my familiarity FOSS after 2 years). This is everything KDE 4.0 should have been, IMHO. My hat goes off to the KDE and the Kubuntu teams. Great job!

:guitar: :popcorn:

:KS:KS:KS:KS:KS

[Canis familiaris]

I hope it is this way. Kubuntu has always been short on my expectations and its implemetation of KDE has always been poor.
If the devs manage to integrate KDE well and make Kubuntu a good KDE distro, I would be the most pleased.

[1cewolf]

For all of its flaws, Kubuntu does look quite a bit better than Ubuntu. I think it has more to do with KDE 4.1 than anything the specific to Kubuntu, but that's beside the point. KDE 4 has enormous potential compared to GNOME and I think what we're seeing is only the tip of the iceberg. There are a lot of big improvements planned for KDE 4.2 and there's still a lot to look forward to.

Personally, I'm looking forward to the eventual release of KOffice 2. I've been playing around with the beta and I'm absolutely thrilled with the intuitive interface that the KOffice team has put together. I honestly believe that KOffice 2 has what it takes to become the definitive Linux office suite provided that adequate time is taken to deal with bugs so that its release isn't another KDE 4.0.

[lyceum]

I hope it is this way. Kubuntu has always been short on my expectations and its implemetation of KDE has always been poor.
If the devs manage to integrate KDE well and make Kubuntu a good KDE distro, I would be the most pleased.

The only issue I have has so far was trying to install my NVIDIA driver. It was not as easy as on Ubuntu. I had to go to the package manager to load it.

[L815]

I hope they fix the tab issue with firefox and qt engine.
But this release is 10X better than their previous releases.

[Canis familiaris]

I keep my fingers crossed... :)

[1cewolf]

I hope they fix the tab issue with firefox and qt engine.
But this release is 10X better than their previous releases.

I switched to using the "KDE4 + Firefox 3" theme and my tabs look fine. Give it a try and see if it doesn't work for you:

http://ramonantonio.net/kde-firefox/

[L815]

I switched to using the "KDE4 + Firefox 3" theme and my tabs look fine. Give it a try and see if it doesn't work for you:

http://ramonantonio.net/kde-firefox/

That was the theme I was looking for! I installed the Oxygen theme and was surprised it didn't work. No wonder, it was the wrong one haha
Thanks

[elmer_42]

I was planning on trying out a few distros on the weekend before the official release, so I know which distro I really want to use. I've been using Ubuntu for about 7 months, and because of your post I'm going to check out Kubuntu once 8.10 comes out.

[Therion]

I'm a die-hard Gnome user, admittedly, but daaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaammmnnn... I gotta say that is one sharp looking DE right there.

Question though (for the real K-users): The bottom panel still bugs me. The size of the panel itself, and the icons in particular, are too large in my opinion. Is that something I can change? I'd like both to be a bit smaller and a little more... I dunno, subtle I guess. Is this doable?

[SuperSonic4]

Is Kubuntu 8.10 similar to Kubuntu 8.04 KDE4-remix?

I have the latter but I will be upgrading to Mandriva 2009 when it comes out, I just think they do a better KDE implementation but I must admit, amarok 2 has been disappointing compared to amarok 1.4 so you might want to enable backports if you need to

[Sand & Mercury]

Is Kubuntu 8.10 similar to Kubuntu 8.04 KDE4-remix?

I have the latter but I will be upgrading to Mandriva 2009 when it comes out, I just think they do a better KDE implementation but I must admit, amarok 2 has been disappointing compared to amarok 1.4 so you might want to enable backports if you need to

The 8.04 remix only uses KDE 4.0 as opposed to 4.1 out of the box, which is a great, great deal worse.

[stimpack]

Is KDE 4.1 ready for a main work computer now? I'll get 8.10 to try, but I'd like peoples opinions in advance. Can I do everything I do in KDE3 in 8.10?.

[geoken]

I'm a die-hard Gnome user, admittedly, but daaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaammmnnn... I gotta say that is one sharp looking DE right there.

Question though (for the real K-users): The bottom panel still bugs me. The size of the panel itself, and the icons in particular, are too large in my opinion. Is that something I can change? I'd like both to be a bit smaller and a little more... I dunno, subtle I guess. Is this doable?

The height, width and alignment of the panel are all easily changed. Basically, you select the option to resize the panel and the panel enters a resize mode where you grab the edges and start resizing it the same way you'd resize any window.

[Therion]

The height, width and alignment of the panel are all easily changed. Basically, you select the option to resize the panel and the panel enters a resize mode where you grab the edges and start resizing it the same way you'd resize any window.
Interesting... Thanks for the info. I'm tempted to give KDE a shot.

[1cewolf]

Is KDE 4.1 ready for a main work computer now? I'll get 8.10 to try, but I'd like peoples opinions in advance. Can I do everything I do in KDE3 in 8.10?.

I find Kubuntu Intrepid (KDE 4.1.2) to be stable enough for everyday work even though it's still in Beta. There are still issues, don't get me wrong, but they have easy workarounds. I guess it all depends on your standards for a main work computer OS. It works well for me.

You can't do everything in KDE 4 that you can in KDE 3. Coming from GNOME, I already think that it already has plenty of features, but there is still some remaining functionality which will be implemented in KDE 4.2 to bring KDE 4 up to par with KDE 3 in terms of features.

[SunnyRabbiera]

For me kubuntu 8.10 looks like all the rest of them, dark and dull.
KDE4 needs more themers and more features before I give it another shot.

[Giant Speck]

I'm a little scared to upgrade to 8.10.

I love KDE 3.5.10, and I don't think I'm ready for KDE 4.1.2.

:(

[miggols99]

For me kubuntu 8.10 looks like all the rest of them, dark and dull.
KDE4 needs more themers and more features before I give it another shot.
That's true! Kubuntu needs to make thir own theme, or at least choose a nice one from KDE look. The default black one isn't all that great...and they could at least change the default background to something..Kubuntu-y

[lyceum]

That's true! Kubuntu needs to make thir own theme, or at least choose a nice one from KDE look. The default black one isn't all that great...and they could at least change the default background to something..Kubuntu-y

One thing I have never got is why Ubuntu has the Ubuntu logo on the tool bar, but Kubuntu has the KDE logo, not a Kubuntu logo.

As far as themes go, there will be more as time goes by, I am sure. Also, I feel like I am learning a new OS at times, even though I still use many of the same programs, I installed FF & Thunderbird (I don't like Konquerer) I had to install some games, GIMP, OOo, and many other programs, but I do the same thing to Ubuntu with other stuff, like Amorok, etc.. Gnome is more intuitive, and I would still say better for the new user, but that said I really like this new system, and I think I will be able to hang up my hat and call it home soon enough.

[stmiller]

KDE4 uses less ram for me than KDE3.x did on the same machine. It's pretty amazing. There are major improvements under the hood, as they say.

Some Apple dashboard widgets open, but functionality of those apple widgets is hit or miss. So that seems a little experimental, I guess you could say.

Kontact under KDE4 is an amazing email, calendar, etc program. It looks amazing with the new port.

There are problems with Nvidia's driver and 3D effects in KDE4, though Nvidia is working on fixes in their latest beta series drivers.

[bailout]

Interesting to hear positive reports on kubuntu intrepid. I haven't been impressed with kde 4 as released for gutsy. I think it should still be called pre release software. When added to some of the choices made by developers, ie Dolphin, I have been thinking of changing to gnome tbh. I certainly don't think I will be rushing to install intrepid kubuntu until I hear some more feedback.

[billgoldberg]

I have tried kde 4.1 and it just feels like something is missing.

I guess I'm just not a kde kind of guy.

[nbakewell]

Apart from the usage of KDE instead of Gnome, what are the big differences between Kubuntu and Ubuntu? Does it have a different package set since it's using KDE?

[LaRoza]

Apart from the usage of KDE instead of Gnome, what are the big differences between Kubuntu and Ubuntu? Does it have a different package set since it's using KDE?

Kubuntu uses KDE and KDE applications. Ubuntu uses GNOME and GNOME applications.

Kubuntu doesn't have GTK apps in it, and Ubuntu doesn't have QT apps in it.

[billgoldberg]

Kubuntu uses KDE and KDE applications. Ubuntu uses GNOME and GNOME applications.

Kubuntu doesn't have GTK apps in it, and Ubuntu doesn't have QT apps in it.

That being said, you can use gtk apps in kubuntu and qt apps in ubuntu.

They will look a bit out of place but they'll work as expected.

However there are ways to make those apps integrate better.

[SuperSonic4]

I'm a die-hard Gnome user, admittedly, but daaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaammmnnn... I gotta say that is one sharp looking DE right there.

Question though (for the real K-users): The bottom panel still bugs me. The size of the panel itself, and the icons in particular, are too large in my opinion. Is that something I can change? I'd like both to be a bit smaller and a little more... I dunno, subtle I guess. Is this doable?

I'm not sure what you mean but this from kde-look might be what you're after http://kde-look.org/content/show.php/multirows+task+manager?content=83177

Although I can't seem to compile it :(

[qazwsx]

Not so good experience with Nvidia drivers :(

Looks nice, feels good and I love it but that Nvidia bug makes it very unpleasant. No plasma stability problems like in KDE 4.0. Adept is so much better in KDE4. Clearly the best DE out there. KDE 4.2 is going to be awesome.

I am waiting for K3B and Kaffeine ports. Needs little bit more desktop effects.

KDE 3.5 feels so old now (I am still using it because of Nvidia).

[Mazza558]

Using KDE 4.1.2 and it's improved a lot, even since 4.1.

[ODF]

I switched to using the "KDE4 + Firefox 3" theme and my tabs look fine. Give it a try and see if it doesn't work for you:

http://ramonantonio.net/kde-firefox/

Hehe thx, very usefull post.

A+

[miggols99]

Kubuntu really needs to use gtk-kde4 (http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&ct=res&cd=1&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.kde-apps.org%2Fcontent%2Fshow.php%2Fgtk-kde4%3Fcontent%3D74689&ei=bPPoSOHABqfIQbHWlYEM&usg=AFQjCNGJq-Ad7OJTEs1h6NNjfOmBnMHpYQ&sig2=PchGGekzcE3_SFhDog0NcA) and actually set a default Gtk theme (maybe an Oxygen clone (http://gnome-look.org/content/show.php/KDE4+Oxygen+new+port+for+GNOME?content=86653)?) so apps like Firefox look decent. Yes I know the Oxygen theme for Firefox works, but what about when I go into configuring Firefox? It's really ugly! And I don't think anyone can live with no Gtk apps at all. I'm sure there will be a few Gtk apps to use, especially since KDE 4 has some more applications to be ported.

[ODF]

Apart from the usage of KDE instead of Gnome, what are the big differences between Kubuntu and Ubuntu? Does it have a different package set since it's using KDE?

The desktop environnement, the apps available are the same. You can even run metacity if you want ... you can integrate nautilus in your kde system.

I was a gnome user and now I switched ... I use the same apps and barely nothing has changed exept for the desktop environnement. I really like the KDE4 panels ... in fact, I run KDEmod.

[lyceum]

There have been a few posts about NVIDIA, which is what I am using in my laptop. I am using NVIDIA Driver Version 177.76, and the only issue I am having is that some flash movies flicker in and out until I play them, but I think this is a Flash issue, not an NVIDIA one.

[qazwsx]

Plasmoids resizing is insanely slow. Seems to be somewhat faster with opensource drver.Desktop effects are quite slow.I have read somewhere that effects works fine with Intel GPUs.

It must be Nvidia issue that depends on GPU.

[mips]

If you have nVidia issues try their LATEST drivers.

[Calmatory]

Half a year ago I tried Kubuntu 7.10, upgraded to 8.04 Beta and then to KDE 4. I've never used so unstable system. Even Aloha 6 of Ubuntu was more stable than what KDE 4 was back then. That left me scars.

Kubuntu 8.10 will have a chance soon, right after I reboot my machine and start downloading the beta. Hopefully it turns out something people have been telling about it. It should be stable, it should look good, it should just work. After the 8.04 Beta + KDE 4, it can't get any worse. :) I know, my fault for going too far with the Betas, but I was too curious to see whats coming. Guess I paid the price. :)

[awakatanka]

Half a year ago I tried Kubuntu 7.10, upgraded to 8.04 Beta and then to KDE 4. I've never used so unstable system. Even Aloha 6 of Ubuntu was more stable than what KDE 4 was back then. That left me scars.

Kubuntu 8.10 will have a chance soon, right after I reboot my machine and start downloading the beta. Hopefully it turns out something people have been telling about it. It should be stable, it should look good, it should just work. After the 8.04 Beta + KDE 4, it can't get any worse. :) I know, my fault for going too far with the Betas, but I was too curious to see whats coming. Guess I paid the price. :)
I think if you try alpha our beta from (k)ubuntu you need to do a clean install. Else you can't say if its buggy because the upgrade. Have tryed it with 2 installations one that always was a fresh install and one i always upgrade, the upgrade always have some stranges errors.

[aktiwers]

Not so good experience with Nvidia drivers :(

Looks nice, feels good and I love it but that Nvidia bug makes it very unpleasant. No plasma stability problems like in KDE 4.0. Adept is so much better in KDE4. Clearly the best DE out there. KDE 4.2 is going to be awesome.

I am waiting for K3B and Kaffeine ports. Needs little bit more desktop effects.

KDE 3.5 feels so old now (I am still using it because of Nvidia).

Try this command in KDE 4.2

nvidia-settings -a InitialPixmapPlacement=2 -a GlyphCache=1


It did speed things up for me. But opening apps is too slow imo.

[qazwsx]

Seems tob much fadter now! Thanks

[aktiwers]

Great! To make it permanent add it to your startup

[1cewolf]

Try this command in KDE 4.2

nvidia-settings -a InitialPixmapPlacement=2 -a GlyphCache=1


It did speed things up for me. But opening apps is too slow imo.

Thanks for the tip! Out of curiosity, what exactly does this command change?

On an unrelated topic, you know what's scary? I think that the new Adept is growing on me. Sure, it's still got a boatload of bugs that need addressed, but I'm starting to like the interface the more that I use it.

[jeyaganesh]

KDE always looks crystal clear. It is beautiful than Gnome. But controls and settings are much easier in Gnome for me.

[igknighted]

I agree that KDE is very beautiful, especially in the latest beta. But in every KDE4 implementation I have used (OpenSuse, Fedora, Ubuntu), the "system tray" icons are always messed up. In the latest Ubuntu beta they work, which is a plus, but the backgrounds of the icons get messed up (see attached screen shot). Anybody have any hints on how to fix this?

[aktiwers]

Thanks for the tip! Out of curiosity, what exactly does this command change?

On an unrelated topic, you know what's scary? I think that the new Adept is growing on me. Sure, it's still got a boatload of bugs that need addressed, but I'm starting to like the interface the more that I use it.

You can try change the GlyphCache to higher values as well. I am not perfectly sure what the command does, but it changes some settings in the Nvidia driver :)
I guess you already knew that.

I simply found the command yesterday when I was trying Kubuntu 8.10 out and got this nvidia bug as well. Also if you right-click on a window-border and pick "configure window behavior" or something like that, you can set your settings to faster.

Sorry I lost the links, I will go look for them ;)

[1cewolf]

I agree that KDE is very beautiful, especially in the latest beta. But in every KDE4 implementation I have used (OpenSuse, Fedora, Ubuntu), the "system tray" icons are always messed up. In the latest Ubuntu beta they work, which is a plus, but the backgrounds of the icons get messed up (see attached screen shot). Anybody have any hints on how to fix this?

It's a known issue. I reported it on Launchpad and it was marked as a duplicate of an existing bug.

I don't believe any sort of solution will be possible until the KDE guys finish designing the "better" system tray.

[Trail]

I don't believe any sort of solution will be possible until the KDE guys finish designing the "better" system tray.

Yep. They are going to use some sort of plasmoid instead of the regular systray icons, which will also add functionality. I'm quite looking forward to it. (Also, extenders).


Jason Stubb's new systray applet also supports hiding icons; we just need an expand button to give access to the hidden icons. I'm pondering whether the hidden icons should appear in a popup or expand the widget in the panel .. hum hum .. Beyond that, the new systray supports much nicer painting of the icons and specialization of the icons letting us transition to a new spec on X11 that doesn't suck *** by mixing new and old style icons without the user seeing any difference (as well as most likely be able to support win32 systray icons on that platform).

http://aseigo.blogspot.com/

[kernelhaxor]

Could anyone who installed Kubuntu 8.10 post some nice screenshots?

[K.Mandla]

I was just about to say, "All this talk about how beautiful it is, and no one has given us a screenshot."

[Sugz]

^ I agree, you cant support a claim without physical evidence. Duh :)

[Trail]

Well, it's not Kubuntu specifically, but it's KDE4...

[Chame_Wizard]

Kubuntu :KS

[kernelhaxor]

Well, it's not Kubuntu specifically, but it's KDE4...

Thanks .. is tht Opensuse? thts not Opensuse's default theme though .. so is tht a custom theme / color-scheme?

we wanna see specifically Kubuntu 8.10 too :)

[Trail]

Thanks .. is tht Opensuse? thts not Opensuse's default theme though .. so is tht a custom theme / color-scheme?

we wanna see specifically Kubuntu 8.10 too :)

It's the default OpenSUSE plasma theme (Aya; but I think Kubuntu defaults to Heron? which is not as pretty), Evergreen-Frost color scheme I think, and the wallpaper is the default kde4 but in a green version (Green Curl; I also touched it a bit to make it a little darker). Window decoration is also default.

I have the taskbar on the left because it takes less screen-space on a widescreen monitor, and the plasmoids are default (I'm saying this because I had to custom-compile the pager and taskbar on KDE3 to make it good enough on a vertical taskbar; on KDE4 the default taskbar does not look awesome, but it's good enough. I'd prefer an option to put the text below the icon though). There is a Folderview on the desktop, a notes plasmoid, a New Device Notifier (moved there from the taskbar because it takes less space and I don't use it often), and an additional Quick Access plasmoid on the bar.

[awakatanka]

Its pretty standaard atm, hope kubuntu is branding it with there own look that will look different then the rest. With a kubutnu icon for menu ( hope they change it to lancelot ), etc

[lyceum]

I was just about to say, "All this talk about how beautiful it is, and no one has given us a screenshot."

I have not changed much...

http://fc75.deviantart.com/fs37/i/2008/281/f/3/my_Kubuntu_Desktop_by_dferriman.png

[1cewolf]

Have a look! It's not much beyond the standard fare, but I can't remember the last time I actually liked the default look so much.

http://www.mediafire.com/imageview.php?quickkey=toizvjmmmj1&thumb=5

[cardinals_fan]

Its pretty standaard atm, hope kubuntu is branding it with there own look that will look different then the rest. With a kubutnu icon for menu ( hope they change it to lancelot ), etc
Why is that bad? It's the DE developers who need to handle the look - why should a distro mess around with it?

[kernelhaxor]

Why is that bad? It's the DE developers who need to handle the look - why should a distro mess around with it?

we r not talkin abt big changes here .. jus small customizations and a kubuntu theme which makes it feel like kubuntu (for example, changing the menu icon to kubuntu logo and things like tht)

look at ubuntu .. default theme is 'human' whereas gnome's default theme is 'clearlooks' or something .. Ubuntu's Gnome DE's look has been customized for Ubuntu but thts not the case with Kubuntu ..
Btw, I am only talkin abt looks here, which for me is no big deal ..

[cardinals_fan]

we r not talkin abt big changes here .. jus small customizations and a kubuntu theme which makes it feel like kubuntu (for example, changing the menu icon to kubuntu logo and things like tht)

look at ubuntu .. default theme is 'human' whereas gnome's default theme is 'clearlooks' or something .. Ubuntu's Gnome DE's look has been customized for Ubuntu but thts not the case with Kubuntu ..
Btw, I am only talkin abt looks here, which for me is no big deal ..
I don't really like that regular Ubuntu customized GNOME. But I'm a purity freak :)

[heathenos]

Qt is much better than GTK right now, but even with a good theme, the KDE environment is ugly. plus, I hate the K-naming convention.

[JetskiDude911]

The screen shots are impressive. I might just have to give Kubuntu 8.10 are try when it comes out. I'm using Fedora 9 right now, but it I'd prefer to use Ubuntu. 8.04 just didn't work well for me.

[hanzomon4]

Ive yet to see a kde4.1 distro look anything but stunning. Kde is now in my opinion the most beautiful DE in the Linux world by default

[doorknob60]

KDE4 uses less ram for me than KDE3.x did on the same machine. It's pretty amazing. There are major improvements under the hood, as they say.

Some Apple dashboard widgets open, but functionality of those apple widgets is hit or miss. So that seems a little experimental, I guess you could say.

Kontact under KDE4 is an amazing email, calendar, etc program. It looks amazing with the new port.

There are problems with Nvidia's driver and 3D effects in KDE4, though Nvidia is working on fixes in their latest beta series drivers.

Yeah I'm using the Nvidia 177.80 drivers and it's a significant improvement over 173.x drivers, but I have an 8400GS and my parent's laptop with intergrated 6150 still gets better KDE4 performance (with 173.x) than mine, so it's not perfect yet. Disable the effects and it's fine though (there's a plasmoid to make it easy to switch them on and off, it's even in Arch's AUR). Anyways, KDE4 is awesome, and Kubuntu's implementation is pretty good, especially for a beta, although Arch+KDEmod is still better, sorry :P

[doorknob60]

I agree that KDE is very beautiful, especially in the latest beta. But in every KDE4 implementation I have used (OpenSuse, Fedora, Ubuntu), the "system tray" icons are always messed up. In the latest Ubuntu beta they work, which is a plus, but the backgrounds of the icons get messed up (see attached screen shot). Anybody have any hints on how to fix this?

Gah I hate that. Luckily it's pretty rare in Arch (still heppens every once in a while tohugh). I honestly have no clue how to fix it, it might be an Nvidia issue. Do you have Nvidia? If so, what driver are you using? EDIT:Woops that was a double post :(

[Trail]

We also have a new system tray that's about to migrate into the KDE default workspace. Jason Stubbs implemented it in a way that not only works better than the existing one with the current system tray widgets we have to put with, but wrote it so that we can plugin multiple "protocols" into it. This opens the way for new approaches to the system tray, which we will continue to explore, without having to lose support for or coherency with existing system tray solutions. Frederik-of-folderview-fame also added support for the _NET_SYSTEM_TRAY_VISUAL hint and handling of argb windows correctly. It also support hiding icons, showing desktop and system notifications and more. It's a new widget, and still has lots of room for improvement over time, but we finally have a system tray widget that is designed to be extensible behind the scenes so we can explore and implement a truly unified notification area and start moving away from some of the limitations of the existing system tray protocol on X11.


I'd just wait it out until 4.2 :)

[awakatanka]

Why is that bad? It's the DE developers who need to handle the look - why should a distro mess around with it?
It isn't bad, but a distro have to have a own look that stands out. I mostly change it to something i like, so for me not important. But for first time users it is.

[ajzimm3rman]

I hope it is this way. Kubuntu has always been short on my expectations and its implemetation of KDE has always been poor.
If the devs manage to integrate KDE well and make Kubuntu a good KDE distro, I would be the most pleased.

I think KDE is like vista to linux.

[lyceum]

It isn't bad, but a distro have to have a own look that stands out. I mostly change it to something i like, so for me not important. But for first time users it is.

I agree that if you are going to make a distro, you should have your own theme. I would never recommend KDE to a new user though. Gnome is much easier to use, IMO.

[Delvien]

I always found KDE to look like a "My first Desktop"

Its too shiny, too rounded, and KDE4.... ugh

XFCE/OpenBox/GNOME/even ICE imo.

[Chame_Wizard]

can wait for it \\:D/

[menace82]

Kubuntu 8.10 is really beautiful! KDE4.1 is wonderful! Here are my screenshots!

My Desktop (http://picasaweb.google.com/menace82/AhmuIL#5255098096380048802)

My desktop and menu (http://picasaweb.google.com/menace82/AhmuIL#5255098114114016754)

Kubuntu 8.10 Beta with Picture Frame and Comic Strip Plasmoids (http://picasaweb.google.com/menace82/AhmuIL#5255088830602089122)

Kubuntu 8.10 Beta with Dolphin File Manager (http://picasaweb.google.com/menace82/AhmuIL#5255090532502346386)

[Mazza558]

I have to say, after using it for about 2 days, KDE4 is really, really impressive. There's a few glitches here and there, but when it reaches 4.3 and beyond (and becomes more polished), I believe it's going to be the pinnacle of the FOSS Desktop until Gnome catches up. The default theme's quite nice, but I can see the potential for much nicer themes coming along. It feels like a desktop for 2008 and onwards.

[mips]

The default theme's quite nice, but I can see the potential for much nicer themes coming along. It feels like a desktop for 2008 and onwards.

We also need more 'useful' plasmoids. The majority of the current ones are crap.

[lzfy]

We also need more 'useful' plasmoids. The majority of the current ones are crap.

http://nienhueser.de/blog/wp-content/uploads/2008/07/contacts-plasmoid-20080720.png
Contacts plasmoids (not final)

http://dimsuz.files.wordpress.com/2008/04/notify.png
Notification plasmoid(Not final)

http://blog.uninstall.it/wp-content/uploads/2008/10/calendarwidget2.png
Calendar plasmoid

http://blog.uninstall.it/wp-content/uploads/2008/08/kickoff_mockup_thumbnail.png
Kickoff will also become a plasmoid

http://pindablog.files.wordpress.com/2008/07/extenderscreen5.png
Extenders (Not final)

Great things are coming to KDE :KS

[SuperSonic4]

The Dual taskbar manager one is good too. Gives you two rows of tasks like in KDE 3.5.9

http://kde-look.org/CONTENT/content-pre1/83177-1.png (http://kde-look.org/content/show.php/multirows+task+manager?content=83177)

[SunnyRabbiera]

Ive yet to see a kde4.1 distro look anything but stunning. Kde is now in my opinion the most beautiful DE in the Linux world by default

You must have different eyes then me as I hate the looks of KDE4.
Dark themes do not appeal to me, but sadly as it stands a good percent of the themes for KDE4 are dark ones.
I dont like overly dark wallpapers or panels, nor do I like the stupid cashew in the upper right corner or kickoff that much.
it seems currently KDE4 is only good for people who dont like to see things, as for me the dark themes on KDE4 are just too overbearing.

[lyceum]

You must have different eyes then me as I hate the looks of KDE4.
Dark themes do not appeal to me, but sadly as it stands a good percent of the themes for KDE4 are dark ones.
I dont like overly dark wallpapers or panels, nor do I like the stupid cashew in the upper right corner or kickoff that much.
it seems currently KDE4 is only good for people who dont like to see things, as for me the dark themes on KDE4 are just too overbearing.

You can change the look. Either way, KDE does a MUCH better job of the dark look than Gnome. That said, I would like to see some lighter themes as well.

[bigbrovar]

Kubuntu 8.10 is really beautiful! KDE4.1 is wonderful! Here are my screenshots!

My Desktop (http://picasaweb.google.com/menace82/AhmuIL#5255098096380048802)

My desktop and menu (http://picasaweb.google.com/menace82/AhmuIL#5255098114114016754)

Kubuntu 8.10 Beta with Picture Frame and Comic Strip Plasmoids (http://picasaweb.google.com/menace82/AhmuIL#5255088830602089122)

Kubuntu 8.10 Beta with Dolphin File Manager (http://picasaweb.google.com/menace82/AhmuIL#5255090532502346386)

those shots are amazing .. tell me how much tweaking went into it .. or is it very close to what u get by defaults?

[SuperSonic4]

You can change the look. Either way, KDE does a MUCH better job of the dark look than Gnome. That said, I would like to see some lighter themes as well.

I love the dark theme, and there are many themes available, http://kde-look.org is always a good place to find themes and I might try out some of these plasmoids :D

[matrix14]

Whatsoever you said guys, all about KDE is the picture of futuristic OS look 'n fill.
GNOME seem to old about look 'n fill unless the developer really want to make some changes on it... Even though GNOME faster and simple but the eyes need something futuristic and I just found KDE.

[lyceum]

I love the dark theme, and there are many themes available, http://kde-look.org is always a good place to find themes and I might try out some of these plasmoids :D

There are not enough for 4.0 (and up) yet. It is still too new.At the time of my typing this, there are only 4 window decorations and 12 themes. That is really not many. I still have not had the time to learn how to install new stuff or mess with the effects (KDE effects, not compiz).

Does anyone know a quick link on how to build a theme yourself? (to submit to KDE-look.org)

[lyceum]

Just FYI for anyone reading this thread and wanting to give Kubuntu 8.10 beta a spin...

I updated my Kubuntu 8.10 beta this morning and it is now WAY buggy. I had to go into recovery mode and fix the graphics as the desktop just threw up on my screen when I restarted. Now it is running WAY slow and Flash does not work at all. Thankfully this is not my main OS right now, I can still fall back to Ubuntu 8.04. Provided they get the bugs fixed so it works like it did before today I still plan to make this partition my main OS on 10/30/08. I tried re-installing the restricted drivers and installing Flash from scratch. I tried shutting off my proprietary NVIDIA drivers, nothing has worked.

I am not looking for help fixing this, it was fine until I ran my update, so I am guessing the next update will fix it. We have been warned that betas can be buggy. I just wanted to let anyone wanting to try 8.10 beta know so they are not disappointed if the same thing happens to them.

[tbroderick]

You must have different eyes then me as I hate the looks of KDE4.
Dark themes do not appeal to me, but sadly as it stands a good percent of the themes for KDE4 are dark ones.
I dont like overly dark wallpapers or panels, nor do I like the stupid cashew in the upper right corner or kickoff that much.
it seems currently KDE4 is only good for people who dont like to see things, as for me the dark themes on KDE4 are just too overbearing.

I'm using Mandriva 2009 and KDE 4.1.2 by default has a grey and blue look. Sort of like Clearlooks.

[super.rad]

I love KDE4 I'm currently using it on Arch but have tried it countless times on Ubuntu (Intrepid) but have weird flickering lines across the screen whenever I use the keyboard, doesn't happen with gnome on Ubuntu or KDE on anyother distro.

[bailout]

The other aspect of kde4 on gutsy I was disappointed with was how few apps were available as kde4 versions. I assume this is a bit better now but how many of the major kubuntu apps are going to have kde4 versions at intrepid release? thinking of k3b, amarok, kaffeine etc.

[LuisAugusto]

KDE 4.1 it's good, still has it's rough edges here and there, but it's better than GNOME. BTW Those NVidia problems aren't a KDE issue, is one bug in the driver.

KDE 4.2 looks likes it going to be sweet, apart of the far richer feature package of KDE over GNOME, if Nuno vision of KDE 4.2 becomes true it could be head to head with OS X, aesthetically speaking:

http://nuno-icons.com//images/estilo/image590.png

http://nuno-icons.com//images/estilo/imagefolders2.png

PS: I just hope they can fix that terrible bug of two clocks with different hour XD

[Trail]

thinking of k3b, amarok, kaffeine etc.

kDE4 versions of k3b (works for me) and amarok (beta2 at the moment, had some crashes when I tested it about a month ago) are under development.

I think kaffaine is to be replaced by dragonplayer...? Is kaffeine to be continued?

(I never liked kaffeine tbh, and I use SMplayer. Dragonplayer is pretty simple and not bad for a default player though, but I still don't like it that much).

And by the way, don't konfuse the default dark _plasma_ theme with the default light _kwin_ theme... (but you can use plasma themes that use system-wide colors as well).

[qazwsx]

I think kaffaine is to be replaced by dragonplayer...? Is kaffeine to be continued?


Kaffeine is the best DVB player for desktop. As a dvb user I really need that player. You can not watch TV using Dragon player. I think Dragon player is replacement for *******.

Kaffeine for KDE 4is under development.
http://kaffeine.kde.org/?q=node/20

[Chame_Wizard]

KDE 4.1 it's good, still has it's rough edges here and there, but it's better than GNOME. BTW Those NVidia problems aren't a KDE issue, is one bug in the driver.

KDE 4.2 looks likes it going to be sweet, apart of the far richer feature package of KDE over GNOME, if Nuno vision of KDE 4.2 becomes true it could be head to head with OS X, aesthetically speaking:

http://nuno-icons.com//images/estilo/image590.png

http://nuno-icons.com//images/estilo/imagefolders2.png

PS: I just hope they can fix that terrible bug of two clocks with different hour XD

looks nice :guitar::guitar:

[regomodo]

#

[lyceum]

Am i the only one noticing that Kubuntu is identical to the default KDE4.1 release in terms of aesthetics. It's no different to my kde4.2 setup on Gentoo.

Yes, I did. I figured that either they are waiting for the final release, or they are too busy getting it working. Either way, it still looks great!

:guitar:

[SuperSonic4]

Kaffeine is the best DVB player for desktop. As a dvb user I really need that player. You can not watch TV using Dragon player. I think Dragon player is replacement for *******.

Kaffeine for KDE 4is under development.
http://kaffeine.kde.org/?q=node/20

VLC has support and I suspect kaffeine will be available in backports

[qazwsx]

VLC has support and I suspect kaffeine will be available in backports
Kaffeine is still aviable as KDE3 version.

Deinterlacing in VLC is very poor compared to xine or mplayer(I really like yadif). And there is QT4 version of KPlayer as well (not very advanced DVB player). It is not big issue while Kaffeine is far better in that multimedia section.

[MasterNetra]

Is there a graphic control utility for touchpads like there is in gnome
? I know KDE 3.5 doesn't have one which is a reason i went back to gnome. I had to make a script to keep re-appling changes i wanted to some terminal based touchpad controls which never saved the changes on it own. Also i noticed KDE 4 when i tried it was severely lacking in customization tools compared to gnome has that changed any in 4.2??

[toupeiro]

I don't know any other way to word this so that it will make sense but to me.. Gnome feels like a Linux GUI and ... well... KDE feels like a GUI that is a lot of everything else... There have always been tons of great ideas in KDE, but they just never seem fulfilling. I always come back to Gnome.

[toupeiro]

I don't know any other way to word this so that it will make sense but to me.. Gnome feels like a Linux GUI and ... well... KDE feels like a GUI that is a lot of everything else... There have always been tons of great ideas in KDE, but they just never seem fulfilling. I always come back to Gnome.

Ok, I admit it. I pre-judged kubuntu 8.10 unfairly. It'd been a while since I've given KDE a real hard look. I looked at it when 4 came out and found it too buggy. I went ahead and decided to upgrade to Kubuntu 8.10 and I am pretty blown away. No, its not as efficient as gnome, but it is VERY well integrated, pretty responsive, and so far pretty darn stable. While there are still some elements of KDE that feel borrowed, I think its come unto its own with this release, at least in my experiences with it thus far.

I stand corrected! :)

[SylentBobNJ]

I have been using Kubuntu from the very start of my desktop Linux existence. At first it was a secondary desktop to my Windows XP install, but when I 'upgraded' to Vista on my AMD 2500+ 1GB/RAM computer I realized that it was not going to cut it. So now I have a dual-boot Vista/Kubuntu machine that rarely sees the Vista side (only for Quicken, DreamWeaver, and Office 2007).

I went to KDE4 with Hardy and at first it worked ok, but as I started using it more and more I found it to be very difficult to maintain. It's probably my fault since I'm not a "purist", I have a tendency of installing GTK apps like Firefox and Thunderbird and use Compiz effects and occasionally build apps from source to play around with them.

What I found were graphical glitches particularly with OOo, Exaile (Amarok is too heavy) and Firefox/Thunderbird where the taskbar and other screen items would flicker or disappear entirely. Also customizing the panels was impossible, they'd corrupt, move, or simply not show up after logging out and back in. Plasmoids would appear in odd places on the screen and to ice the crap cake, my keyboard eventually started disabling itself upon logon!

I've since moved to fluxbox and love it! I used it on FreeBSD back in the day and loved it then, but it's gotten better. I get my eyecandy with xcompmgr and get my 'plasmoids' with dockapps and conky. Every app runs great and with my older hardware, it's better to have a more lightweight environment I think.

That not to say I won't upgrade to 8.10 when it comes out..:-) I don't scar easily, you see.

On a final note: Is it safe to say that KDE is more Vista-like (taskbar, start menu, desktop icons, systray) while Gnome is more MacOS-like? (top-of-the-screen launch bar, docks, etc.) Just an observation.

-SB

[Joe]

It's the default OpenSUSE plasma theme (Aya; but I think Kubuntu defaults to Heron? which is not as pretty), Evergreen-Frost color scheme I think, and the wallpaper is the default kde4 but in a green version (Green Curl; I also touched it a bit to make it a little darker). Window decoration is also default.

I have the taskbar on the left because it takes less screen-space on a widescreen monitor, and the plasmoids are default (I'm saying this because I had to custom-compile the pager and taskbar on KDE3 to make it good enough on a vertical taskbar; on KDE4 the default taskbar does not look awesome, but it's good enough. I'd prefer an option to put the text below the icon though). There is a Folderview on the desktop, a notes plasmoid, a New Device Notifier (moved there from the taskbar because it takes less space and I don't use it often), and an additional Quick Access plasmoid on the bar.

Where can we get the Green Curl wallpaper?

[luca.b]

It's a pity that Kubuntu removed the zoom-in-out functionality (including keyboard shortcuts) of Plasma due to "usability concerns" when apparently there was no understanding of the ZUI and activities (although the FAQ giving a simple explanation - with an image - has been online in KDE's Techbase, and now UserBase, since last March).
I won't upgrade because I actually need this feature.

[eurgain]

Is KDE 4.1 ready for a main work computer now? I'll get 8.10 to try, but I'd like peoples opinions in advance. Can I do everything I do in KDE3 in 8.10?.

Not if you use NVidia 3D drivers and OpenOffice or Java apps. There is a well-documented bug that causes large parts of the display to go haywire.

A

[Mr. Picklesworth]

KDE 4.1 (with Kubuntu) runs really slowly on my computer for some reason (probably thanks to NVidia), but I was almost converted at first glance. It looks awesome, and I for one appreciate that the desktop is drawn by an application that actually specializes in drawing the desktop, rather than the file manager.

It's really shaping up nicely now!

At the moment, however, I find that GNOME has a lot of handy utilities and dialogs out of the box, for example to examine battery life. Unless I have missed something really big, I suspect it will be another release or two before it's all sorted out.
Qt continues to be quite cool with its smart way of doing toolbars and menubars. Applications like Amarok continue to horrify me with their sideways interfaces :/

[wolfen69]

I hope it is this way. Kubuntu has always been short on my expectations and its implemetation of KDE has always been poor.
If the devs manage to integrate KDE well and make Kubuntu a good KDE distro, I would be the most pleased.

i agree. it has always been buggy for me. no thanks.

[lyceum]

Not if you use NVidia 3D drivers and OpenOffice or Java apps. There is a well-documented bug that causes large parts of the display to go haywire.

A

I use NVidia, OOo & Java, I am working on a RoR website in Netbeans right now. All work fine for me. I have issues getting Rubygems to load right, but I have the same issue with Gnome.

[lyceum]

After using Kubuntu for 30 days I have to say:

I started using Kubuntu at 5.10, but my dyslexia forced me to switch to Gnome. I really knew nothing about FOSS at the time, so everything was experimental to me. I started Ubuntu with 6.06. It was great! Gnome just felt natural. It was everything I thought an OS should be.

I have been very excited to try KDE 4, as they finally moved away from the whole "K" obsession, with names like dolphin and plasma. Also, I now know how to load things with Synaptic now, and know a little more about the command line (not enough to say I know how to use the command line).

All that said, as much as I love Kubuntu and will be sticking with it, it is only due to my previous experience with FOSS. I would strongly recommend new users stay with Ubuntu (Gnome) until they have learned more about FOSS, unless you are a computer geek.

The reason:
KDE looks too much like Windows, leading people to expect it to act more like Windows. This is already an issue, but with Gnome looking different it seems more natural to expect it to be different, in my experience working with new users.

Gnome is more user friendly. KDE has made vast improvements in this field, but I still found Gnome more natural. After my first 30 days in Gnome I really felt at home. KDE, I am getting use to. Not that it is bad, I just found Gnome more natural, and that is how computers should interact with people, naturally (IMHO).

KDE is still buggy. New users need a stable environment to learn in. I do not think KDE will be that environment until 4.5, though they may get it there faster.

This is just my 2 cents, take it or leave it. The reason I am sticking with KED... looks. I am an artist, not a programmer. Ubuntu and Gnome cannot even touch how beautiful Kubuntu looks. I have to stare at my PC over 12 hours a day. For that, I want it to look good.

:guitar: